For all the profound differences from last year's 3-3-5 defense to this year's conventional 4-3, the most obvious is the first number.

UTEP went from three linemen to four, from one tackle to two, and for a team that for half a decade has struggled at tackle and graduated its 2009 starter, Steve Riddick, that seemed ambitious.

Through the preseason, though, defensive coordinator and line coach Andre Patterson seemed oddly confident his team would be OK there.

Against the odds, they have been and a pair of freshmen have led them. Starters Germard Reed and Marcus Bagley have been solid all season and Reed was just named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team as voted on by the league's coaches.

"It's pretty exciting," Reed said. "At the first of the year it was surprising, but throughout the year it started being expected of me. We're a young group and we've improved so much. It will be a good thing to see next year. As sophomores we'll be even better."

The rest of the two-deep team (sophomore Ruben Muñoz and junior Yahchaaroah Stuart) is returning plus UTEP redshirted three more freshmen. Sophomore Isaac Tauaefa was an opening-game starter before being lost early to a leg injury, but he'll be back.

"Both of our starting tackles being freshmen, it is great to see they are going to be back for three more years," Patterson said. "Germard has improved every week.

"Bagley, over time we're going to restructure his size (he's 6-foot-2, 320 pounds).

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We don't want him smaller, just to restructure it. We'd like to get him from 320 to 285. He's not fat, he's just a puppy. We'll get his body harder.

"When we get (redshirting freshman) Corin Brooks in the mix (6-3, 320) people will stop saying we're small."

Bagley is a rare player, a true freshman who isn't redshirting. That was the plan with him all along and he was in the middle of the mix by the end of Socorro.

"Coach Patterson told me when I came I had a chance to play right away," he said. "I just needed to work hard and earn a spot. I wanted to start, but I didn't know if that would happen.

"I just had to step up into a role and be a playmaker."

He admits going from North Mesquite High School to a college starter in one year had challenges.

"The playbook gets bigger," he said. "Everybody in college is good. You're playing with the best of the best."

By next season, UTEP's best at tackle should be awfully good. Patterson isn't going to spend Socorro answering doubtful questions about this group.

"It should be a strength," he said. "When you consider Bagley, Reed, Muñoz, (Stuart), (junior Jamie) Fehoko all coming back, we redshirted three defensive tackles, it will be a strength of our defense."

That's a big change from what the landscape looked like before the season.

Bret Bloomquist may be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; 546-6359.